fabric

noun

fab·ric | \ ˈfa-brik

Definition of fabric

1a : structure, building

b : underlying structure : framework the fabric of society

2 : an act of constructing : erection specifically : the construction and maintenance of a church building

3a : structural plan or style of construction

b : texture, quality —used chiefly of textiles

c : the arrangement of physical components (as of soil) in relation to each other

4a : cloth sense 1a

b : a material that resembles cloth

5 : the appearance or pattern produced by the shapes and arrangement of the crystal grains in a rock

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about fabric

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Examples of fabric in a Sentence

The curtains are made of expensive fabric. scarves made of woven fabrics the fabric of the community

Recent Examples on the Web

The living area is an explosion of dark blue fabrics, including several by the fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier for Lelievre. — Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, "Urban Cowboy Meets Old World New York in a Textile Heir's Apartment," 25 Feb. 2019 This month, the Inside debuts a collection of 15 fabrics with U.S. heritage textile purveyor Scalamandré. — Allison Duncan, WSJ, "The Expert’s Guide to Scoring Décor Deals Online," 14 Feb. 2019 Cold weather usually means piling on the layers, but clothes that are made of synthetic fabrics can trigger eczema for people with sensitive skin, Hu explains. — Talia Abbas, SELF, "11 Tips for How to Treat Eczema During the Winter," 7 Jan. 2019 There are also plenty of online options for sale, in a wide range of fabrics and colors. — Michelle Higgins, The Seattle Times, "How to dress up a dorm room," 25 Sep. 2018 Behind them, other women pegged swaths of indigo fabrics on bamboo poles, while men in loose navy shirts trickled into the fields that fan out from Zhaoxing’s cluster of slanted wooden roofs. — Zandie Brockett, Condé Nast Traveler, "China's Southern Guizhou Region Is Like a Land Lost in Time," 24 Aug. 2018 Patrizia Moroso enlisted Wood to design an exclusive collection of fabrics for Moroso produced by the factory Limonta in Italy. — Wendy Goodman, The Cut, "12 Highlights From Design Week in New York," 24 May 2018 That brings us to our final belly button lint factor: fabric type. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Excuse Me, What Even Is Belly Button Lint?," 1 Mar. 2019 There’s an incredible fabric of very smart, very talented, very committed, very hard-working people who work in this industry. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Colin Kaepernick’s Nike ads are just one piece of a bigger ‘reckoning’ in the fashion industry," 20 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fabric.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for fabric

borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French fabrique "act of construction, something created or constructed, the created world, structure, construction and maintenance of a church," borrowed from Medieval Latin fabrica, going back to Latin, "process of making something, craft, art, workshop," noun derivative from *fabricus "of a craftsman," from fabr-, faber "craftsman, smith" (perhaps going back to dialectal Indo-European *dhabh-r- —perhaps of non-Indo-European origin— whence also Armenian darbin "smith," from *dhabh-r-sneh₂) + -icus -ic entry 1

Note: The Latin derivative fabrica may have been shortened from fabrica ars, perhaps literally "smith's craft, smith's place of work." The base *dhabh-r- has been compared with Gothic gadaban "to happen, be suitable" and a host of related words (see daft), though the semantic link is tenuous.

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